"B" FOR BLUE - ISA'S CHALLENGE

WooHoo!! I won the challenge last week with this "Blue" collage, what a lovely way to start. Will definately enter again this week. Thanks Isa.

Here is a canvas that I made for Isa's challenge. The theme this week is "B" for Blue and to use Distress Inks to colour with.I have used Vintage Photo to colour the paper down the RHS of the canvas and, as you can see, have pretty much used blue for everything else.

Here is the link to her site http://isascrapandstamp.canalblog.com/archives/challenges/index.html

ANGEL COLLAGE

This is a little 5 x 7 canvas board that I did recently. I got up one morning and went straight to my workshop and made it, without prior thought (although perhaps I dreamt about it?) and was very happy with the result.

MY V.I.P. BAG

With a little encouragement from my friend, here is the bag that I have made for myself while I have been waiting for/recovering from my eye surgery. With little that I was able to do creatively, my little grandson came to visit and he had some crocheting and he asked me to help him with it, and so to my amazement, with his very thick wool, probably around 14 ply, and a large plastic crochet hook, I was able to manage to crochet, so I bought some similar wool and a large plastic hook and got started on being creative again. So here is the finished product with a couple of tassels to jazz it up some. On the zipper pull, I have put a glass tag with the letters V I P embossed in gold (my Visually Impared Persons bag). And so now I have another bag to use, I love making bags and will put some more pics up later of bags that I have made.

SUN SHOWER

Recently, I was staying with my friend Bethel in Queensland, when we had a lovely sunshower.

Sadly, they are experiencing drought conditions at the moment, and so her beautiful garden isn't looking quite as green, but hopefully before too much longer, they will get some useful rain.

RAEWYNS 50TH

Recently my friend Raewyn in New Zealand had her 50th Birthday, so myself and 3 friends got together and made a collaborative present for her. She really loves Masks, so we each decorated a mask, mounted it on a 10" x 8" canvas, then they were all put together to make one piece of art. She got such a surprise when the parcel was delivered at her 50th Party. The only problem that we had was that we couldn't use any feathers, which always seem to be the perfect decoration on masks, because feathers would have contravened the import laws in New Zealand.

A BEAUTIFUL JOURNAL AND GREAT READ

While I was visiting a friend, she gave me this book to read, and I was so enthralled with it that I had to buy my own copy to re-read whenever I want, and to enjoy the beautiful journalling, although this book asks more questions than it gives answers.

I have had a little break from posting here after having eye surgery. I just have to take it slowly for now and am not really able to be too creative. But because I just can't "do nothing" I have been working on a project which I have been able to manage with limited vision. Otherwise I would probably go crazy, I am used to spending some time being creative each day. So hopefully before much longer I will be back to "normal" whatever that is. :)

20 NEW INCHIES

I have joined another Inchie swap and have made a lot more on the little blighters over the weekend. There's no doubt that they are addictive. I am planning to make a large montage when I get all the pieces back from the swaps I am in, I have made lots for myself as well and will make up to the size I need by making more. I remember when I first saw them on Chrysti's site, I couldn't believe that people were making 100 of them at a time. But now that I have made some, I can see that it's not that hard. These are the 20 that I am swapping in a group called ANZ_ART. Some of them are quite similar to the ones I have done before because I had printed out the tiny images for the collages, also these are for a different group of girls.

FABRIC COLLAGE

I love fabric collage, I have been playing with it a lot recently, trying different techniques and doing lots of image transfers, with all different mediums and techniques. Here is one that I did recently, I am really happy with this piece. The picture is a Gel Meduim image transfer and many different fabrics make up the rest of the picture.

SATURDAY'S QUOTE

"The purpose of life, after all, is to live it,
to taste experience to the utmost,
to reach out eagerly and without fear
for newer and richer experiences."
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt

ANOTHER BACKGROUND TECHNIQUE

And this is a notebook which I made and covered with a sheet of this paper, it makes a great cover.

Here is a background paper which I made some time ago, and although it is a different technique, the outcome looks quite similar to the Scrunchies on Arttechniques. This was made with black tissue paper, scrunched up and then applied to Jac paper. Two or three colours of Brilliance ink pads were swiped across the surface, picking up on the high points.

STAMPERS SAMPLER

This is a card which I had published in Stampers Sampler last month. I didn't submit it to the magazine myself, it was submitted along with some other cards from a swap in which we had to use the Artful Mosaic stamp. Mine was one of the ones which was selected to be in the magazine, and although I don't usually aspire to being published, when I saw my card in print, it was great.

JIG SAW ART

This is what I am playing with at the moment. These are Childrens cardboard jigsaws which have been altered to make a lovely collaborative artwork.

Late last year at a Stamp camp, some friends and I decided to do one of these Jig Saw Art pieces, and this is my finished piece. We all loved them so much that we are doing another one. I have chosen purple this time, I already have several pieces sent back to me completed and I'm sure that when the purple one is finished, it will look equally as nice as my Cream and Gold one.

It's a lot of fun.

MY ART ENABLER

This lamp has been a wonderful tool for me lately. My DH bought it for me about six months ago and I wasn't sure that I was going to have a lot of use for it. However, since then, I have developed a serious sight problem for which I am having surgery next week, and this lamp has allowed me to continue doing lots of things that I wouldn't have been able to do including my art and also being able to read in short bursts. Thanks DH, I think that you must have ESP. It has saved me from feeling too down about what is happening with my eyes.

ADDICTIVE INCHIES

I just had to try making some Inchies, little 1" x 1" collages, which seem to be happening everywhere. So after making some for a trial, I entered the CC Inchie Swap and have completed my entry for that as well. I have also been very busy doing 39 pages for a Chunky Collaborative Book and was happy to post that away to the swap hostess yesterday. The finished product should be wonderful, there are very talented artists taking part in this from all over the world.

So now I am off today to make some cards for friends whose birthdays are coming up, and looking forward to it after the challenge of making 39 pages all the same.

AUTUMN LEAVES

Well it's Autumn here, the mornings are getting a little chilly, but the days are perfect, so clear and colourful. This is a photo of one of my trees, a Rhus with it's beautiful heart shaped leaves changing to all colours from yellow to rich red. I am going to have coffee this morning with a friend who I haven't seen in a couple of months, due to the fact that we have both had some challenges lately. It will be good to catch up with her.

Here is another background that I tried from Arttechniques, it is Zorana's technique. I really enjoyed doing this. Is is done with silk flowers and leaves, embossing powder and beeswax. I will do some more of these when I get some time. It is just waiting to be artied up, but it seems a shame to cover it up with anything.